And we beseech thee

Sand

1. Inwardly fenfible give us that due

Senfe of all the
Mercies,

of them.

1. In our

Thoughts.

2. Really thankful for

2. In our
Words.

them,

fo as

το

Thew

Lit,

3. By our
Deeds.

That our hearts

may be unfeignedly thankful,

And that we may thew forth thy praise not only in our lips,

But in our lives by giving up our felves to thy Service, and by walking befoze thee in holiness and righteousness all our Days,

1. The Petition is Through Jesus

enforced.

2. The Doxology
is repeated.

A Practical Difcourfe on the general Thanksgiving.

S.III. Lmighty God, Father of all merctes, we thine unworthy Servants do give thee mokk humble and hearty thanks for all thy Goodnels and loving kindness to us,and to all Men.]

The first care in the offering our Sacrifice of Praise muft be, that it be directed to the right Object. We muft not with the rude Heathens facrifice to fortune,nor with the viler Atheists to our net, Habac.i. 16. No nor yet with the proud man to our felves; but our praife is to be given to Almighty God, who (as St.Paul teacheth us) is the Father of all mercies, 2 Cor.i.13.And juftly fo called, fince all things come from him, 1 Chron.xxix. 14. and every good gift comes down from above, where he dwells in glory, James i.17. which made the Royal (though Pagan) Philofopher fay, That when any good thing befell him, he took it as the gift of God (f). To him we prefent our Thanksgivings here, and we fhall do it with greater folemnity and devotion, if we confider a while, to whom we are addreffing our felves, even to that omnipotent and gracious God, on whofe goodnefs many millions do every moment depend, and none of them perifheth for want of his care; what bleffing is there which now makes any Creature in the world to rejoyce? or what Mercies have they been which have relieved the whole Creation hitherto? They are, and were, all from him. Oh! what an abyfs of goodness is

(f) Συμβαίνει τί μοι, δέχομαι ἐ πὶτὸς θεὸς ἀναφέ swv Marc. Anton. ad feipf. lib.8. §.

23.

there

there in our heavenly Father, that gives continually and very liberally, yet hath no lefs, nor can he be exhaufted, that hath beftowed upon all that ever had a being, and

yet hath fufficient left for all that truft in him? Methinks it should be a mighty pleasure to us to praise fo glorious and gracious a God, if we were wholly uuconcerned upon our own account, much more when our felves have a share in his diftributions, and we have received Mercies more than we can reckon, greater than we did expect or could deferve, who are inoft unworthy;which carries us to the second confidcration, viz. Who we are that do praise him,his unworthy Servants,we ought to ferve him as he is our Maker and Preferver, though he gave us no reward; and he hath glorious Servants in Heaven much more worthy than we; yea confidering our frailty and folly, our treachery and difobedience,we are unworthy to be his Servants, only he is pleafed to accept of us, yet even fo we must confefs with holy Jacob that we are not worthy of the least of all his Mercies, Gxxxii. 10. Our Service could never merit the fmalleft favour or the meaneft reward: Stripes indeed we have deferved for not ferving him as we ought; but inftead of our deferved Punishment behold we have many undeferved bleffings heaped upon us, which we can make no requital for, unless by confeffing, that we are his unworthy Servants. Thirdly, therefore what kind of praises ought fuch unworthy Creatures to give to fo glorious and kind a Mafter? doubtless both bamble and hearty thanks; for the lefs we deferve his bleffings,the more he deferves our praises,and our unworthiness makes his kindness the more lovely: If we confider our felves, we owe moft humble thanks unto him, who hath been pleased to regard us, whofe condition is fo low, and our 1ins fo many, that we might feem only fit objects for his anger or his fcorn: Again if we regard the freenefs and Ff 3 fulness

fulness of his Mercy and loving kindness, we owe moft hearty thanks to his bounty; for who can be fo base to return real goodness and fincere Love with feigned thanks or hypocritical praife? His favours flow from a fincere pity and loving kindness; and our Thanksgivings muft fpring from a hearty gratitude, or elfe they are not fit to be offered, nor likely to be accepted. Hu

(g) Et habere te cognofce, & nihil ex te habe. e,nt nec fuper

bus fis, nec ingratus. Aug.in Pfalm.

mility and Sincerity are the neceffary qualifications of all our acts of Praife, and either Pride or Hypo. crify will make them be rejected(g). Fourthly, we may learn what is to be the fubject matter of our praises, viz.All his goodness and lovingkindness to our felves in the first place, for thefe we are beft acquainted with, thefe we have moft comfort from, and are moft obliged by; and if every Man would praife God for his own peculiar Mercies, none of his bleffings would return empty, or be buried in ungrateful filence: but becaufe 00 many do neglect their duty;therefore St.Paul commds us to give thanks for all men, 1 Tim.ii. 1. And the Church appointeth we shall alfo blefs God for his mercies to all other men, because we are all Brethren, and Members of the fame body, fo that when any Member rejoyceth, all ought to rejoyce with it, and Charity will teach us to be as really glad to fee another man profper as to profper our felves. Now God is merciful to all men, but fome are Heathens and do not know him, others are wicked and do not regard him, fome are wholly given up to the world, and forget to praise him, and fcarce any praise him fo often or fo heartily as he deserves ; wherefore the grateful Soul endeavours to make up all these defects, wishing it could fupply the negligences and ignorances of the whole Creation, or repair the glory that God feemeth to lofe by all the ungrateful wretches in

the

the World, fo that it doth moft heartily praise him fo his Goodness and Love to all Mankind.

§. IV. CP Articularly to bofe, who defire now to offer their praifes and thanksgivings for thy late Mercies vouchsafed unto them.)]

We cannot pass this fo generally neglected Parenthefis without a juft complaint of the base ingratitude of this prefent age; wherein though many defire the particular Prayers of the Church to be made for them, in their fickness or danger; yet fcarce any take care to return publick thanks upon their Recovery. The Church hath provided Thanksgivings as well as Prayers, and expects we should ufe the one (when God gives occafion) as well as the other; fo that it is the fault of private men, if either of them be omitted. When our Lord Jefus had cured the ten Lepers, though all received their defired health; yet none returned to give glory to God, but one poor Samaritan stranger, Luke xvii.16, 17,18. But now men are more negligent, for of many Hundreds which do recover by the Churche's Prayers, we hear of not one that comes to make a juft acknowledgment. Whether it be out of ingratitude or negligence I will not determine, but whatever be the Caufe, I am fure the Crime is very great. When the God of Ifrael had healed Naaman, he came back to confefs the Mercy he had received, and profered large Oblations, yea and craved as much confecrated Earth, as might ferve to build an Altar within his own Conntry, whereon he might particularly facrifice to the true God for the health he had received, 2 Kings v.15, &c. For it was the Cuftom of the very Heathens to come and offer Sacrifices and gifts, and to pay their Vows at the Temples of thofe Gods to whom they had prayed in time of fickness or danger, Strabo mentioneth a famous Temple

Ff 4